The Queensland Quitline service has experienced its busiest month in seven years; driven by the success of a two-pronged State-Government advertising and legislative anti-smoking campaign. Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said Queensland smokers were responding to the Government campaign, with more than 3000 calls to and from the centre in May, 2014. “They’re calling Quitline for advice about how to butt out their bad habit,” said the Health Minister.

“The surge continued with a further 2,154 callers to Quitline in June, compared to 1,854 in June last year. The Minister visited Quitline operators at Mt Gravatt today to thank them for their hard work in providing support for Queenslanders wanting to break the smoking habit. “Since early May, the Government’s $1.65M ‘All by myself’ advertising campaign has been telling smokers they don’t have to quit alone,” he said.

“The message is getting through and people are calling Quitline for help and advice. "We are encouraging smokers to think about the help that is available to them and to take action. We will continue to provide funding for positive health campaigns that help Queenslanders to lead a healthier lifestyle. "Unlike previous campaigns, the ‘All by myself’ ads do not use graphic images to shock smokers into quitting. The new approach shows how being a smoker can mean missing out on an event and how it can affect your family, so it is good to see people really thinking about this message.

“This is obviously resonating with the community, as 80 per cent of Quitline callers surveyed saying they saw the ad. During May, the Quitline team delivered its highest number of ‘Quit Now’ telephone counselling sessions – 1,696; an increase of 126 on May last year." Quitline staff were expecting to remain busy after the launch of a second campaign, ‘Your future is not pretty’, and recent changes to legislated smoking bans, which attracted widespread media coverage. “The recent surge in Quitline activity shows that no-smoking laws, quit smoking campaigns and disease prevention messages can make a difference to people wanting to quit,” said Mr Springborg. “I’d like to commend and thank our Quitline staff for their hard work and commitment to making Queensland a healthier place."

If you’re thinking about quitting, phone the Quitline on 13 QUIT (13 7848) because you don’t have to do it alone.

Fast facts:

Between May 16 and June 22 Quitline clients were asked for their feedback on the All by myself campaign

346 Quitline clients were surveyed; which represents 24 per cent of all callers who rang Quitline during the campaign period.

Of these, 276 (80 per cent) reported seeing or hearing the All by myself ad

Of the 276 clients who had seen/heard the campaign:

the majority had seen it on TV (259 clients, or 93.5%), with the remainder being on the radio (12 clients; 4.33%), online/digital (4 clients; 1.44%), and at an out of home outlet (2 clients; 0.72%)

225 (81.23%) reported that the campaign made them think about their smoking behaviour

119 (42.50%) reported that the campaign influenced their decision to call the Quitline